Ash tray



Feb. 28, 1956 J. H. ROBERTS 2,736,320

ASH TRAY Filed April 10, 1955 1N V EN TOR.

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United States Patent p Asn TRAY Joseph H. Roberts, Gardner, Mass.,assignor to Heywood- Wakefield Company, Gardner, Mass., a corporation ofMassachusetts Application April 10, 1953, Serial No. 348,077

2 Claims. (Cl. 131-235) This invention relates to ash trays, and moreparticularly to the combination of a chair-arm and an ash tray adaptedfor insertion into a recess in the chair-arm.

Chair-arm ash trays are most frequently employed in vehicle chairs as,for instance, in railway cars and airplanes.` Numerous types have beenemployed in the past. Some have employed vertical tubular membersextending downwardly into the chair-arm and other types have employedtrays mounted to tilt outwardly from the forward edge of the chair-arm.These previously employed ash trays have a number of disadvantages. Inthe iirst place they have been difficult to empty. Secondly, the lockingmechanism employed in securing such ash trays in position has not beenadequate with the result that occupants of the chair have been able totamper with the ash tray. Thirdly, such ash trays are not usuallysecured to the chair-arm, and as a consequence they are sometimesmisplaced or stolen.

It is an object of my invention to provide a chair-arm ash tray which issimple in operation and both easy and convenient to empty. Anotherobject of my invention is to provide a simple locking mechanism toretain such an ash tray in place on the chair-arm but which lockingmechanism will be hidden from view, and the operation of which will notbe readily apparent to the occupant of the chair. A further object of myinvention is to provide a mechanism for securing the ash traypermanently to the chair-arm without interfering with the emptyingoperation of the ash tray.

In the accomplishment of these and other objects of my invention in apreferred embodiment thereof, I mount an ash tray in a recess in theupper forward corner of a chair-arm. The tray itself consists in aroughly rectangular box and is mounted on a hinge, one leaf .of which issecured to the tray and the other leaf of which is slidably connected tothe base of the recess in the chair-arm. An opening for ashes and thelike is provided on the top of the box and emptying is accomplished byfirst sliding the tray out and then tilting the tray over by utilizationof the hinge.

It is a feature of my invention that the tray is locked in position onthe arm by means of a wide headed bolt mounted in the rear of the recessand which passes through a recess in the rear wall of the tray. A latchis employed to engage the head of the said bolt and is pivotally mountedadjacent to the said recess on the rear wall of the tray. It is afeature of my invention that the said latch mounts a snuffer so thatwhen the tray is locked in place, the latch mechanism appears to be onlya snuer. Thus, unless one is familiar with the construction of the tray,it is not readily apparent that the snuffer is associated with themechanism for locking the tray in place.

Further objects and features of my invention will best be understood andappreciated from the following detailed description of a preferredembodiment of my invention, selected for purposes of illustration andshown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

2,736,320 Patented Feb. 28, 1956 rice Fig. 1 is a view in perspective ofthe ash tray of my invention mounted on a typical chair-arm;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the lines 2-2 of Fig. 1 andshowing in phantom lines the dumping position of the tray; l

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines 3 3 of Fig. 2; f

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the lines 3-3 of Fig. 2, but withthe latch mechanism in the elevated position in order to permit the trayto be withdrawn; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan section taken along the lines 5-5 of Fig.3.

The preferred embodiment of my invention herein shown is fabricated ofsheet metal and consists in a rectangular tray or box indicatedgenerally at 10, having side walls 11, a bottom wall 12, a rear wall 14,and a top 16 which curves down over the front of the box 10 and providesa front wall in addition to a top wall. The top 16 is provided with anopening indicated at 18 and may be closed by means of a sliding cover20. The cover 20 is supported within the tray on longitudinallyextending tracks 22 secured to the side walls 11.

The tray or box 10 is mounted in a recess 21 in the upper forwardcornerV of a chair-arm 23 and is connected thereto by means of a hinge24, one leaf of which is welded to the bottom wall 12 of the tray 10 andthe other leaf of which is welded to a rearwardly extending plate 26.The plate 26 is slotted longitudinally and is slidably connected to thechair by means of a wide headed rivet 28 tting into the said slot in theplate 26 to permit the tray to be withdrawn forwardly from thechair-arm, but limiting the said motion when the rivet reaches the endof the said slot.

In Fig. 2 I have shown in phantom the position of the tray when it hasbeen drawn out and tilted over for the purpose of emptying ashes and thelike.

The tray 10 is locked in position by means of a wide headed bolt 30located in the rear of the recess in the arm and secured to thechair-arm. When the tray is fully lodged in the recess in the chair-arm,the bolt 30 passes through a hole 32 in the rear wall 14 of the tray andby cooperating with a latch 34, which is pivotally mounted on the rearwall 14 of the tray, serves to retain the tray securely locked in thechair-arm recess. The latch 34 further serves the purpose of supportinga snuier 36 which adequately obscures the locking mechanism from view,thereby lessening the chance for unauthorized tampering with the latchmechanism.

To empty the tray, one need only release the latch 34 by lifting thesnulfer 36. This releases the latch from the bolt 30 and permits thetray 10 to be drawn forwardly to the position shown in phantom in Fig.2. In this position, the tray is well forward of the chair-arm andthereafter the ashes may be dumped out into a larger container. It willbe noted that the ash tray remains permanently connected to thechair-arm thus reducing the chances of accidental misplacement or theft.It will be further noted that when the latch is tilted upwardly todisengage the bolt 30, the snuffer 36 is also tilted upward to aposition wherein it presents less obstruction to the passage of ashesout of the tray during dumping. I regard this latter feature asimportant to my invention.

Since numerous minor variations of the preferred embodiment of myinvention herein described will now be apparent to those skilled in theart, it is not my intention to confine the invention to the precise formherein shown, but rather to limit it in terms of the appended claims,

Having thus described and disclosed a preferred embodiment of myinvention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentis:

l. In combination with a chair-arm, an ash tray, walls forming a recessin said chair-arm complementary in size and shape to said tray toreceive said tray, a hinge having two leaves interconnecting said trayto said chair-arm, one said leaf secured to said tray, the other leafbeing secured to an elongated plate having an elongated slot extendingalong the longitudinal axis thereof, means secured to said chairearmextending into said slot whereby a sliding connection is providedbetween said chair-arm and said plate whereby said tray may be withdrawnfrom said recess and pivoted about said interconnection to empty thesame and whereby said tray may be inserted into said recess, and meanslocking said tray within said recess including a bolt in the rear ofsaid recess, latch mechanism pivotally mounted on said tray adapted tohook onto said bolt when said tray is in place within said recess, and asnuer mounted on said latch mechanism adapted to conceal the bolt andthe operative portions of the latch mechanism.

2. In combination with a chair-arm, an ash tray, walls forming a recessin said chair-arm complementary in size and shape to said tray toreceive said tray, a hinge having two leaves interconnecting said trayto said chair-arm, one said leaf secured to said tray, the other leafbeing secured to an elongated plate having an elongated slot extendingalong the longitudinal axis thereof, means secured to said chair-armextending into said slot whereby a sliding connection is providedbetween said chair-arm and said plate whereby said tray may be withdrawnfrom said recess and pivoted about said interconnection t empty the sameand whereby said tray may be inserted into said recess, means lockingsaid tray Within said recess including a bolt in the rear of saidrecess, latch mechanism pivotally mounted on said tray adapted to hookonto said bolt when said tray is in place within said recess, a snulermounted on said latch mechanism adapted to conceal the bolt and theoperative portions of the latch mechanism, said locking means beingadapted to lock said tra against longitudinal motion and also to lockthe rear end of said tray against vertical motion, and said hinge beingadapted to secure the front end of said tray against vertical motionwhereby said hinge and locking means cooperate to support said traywithin said chairarm and secure said tray against random jarring forces.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,641,249 Blumental Sept. 6, 1927 2,210,972 Christensen Aug. 13, 19402,270,914 Williams Ian. 27, 1942 2,449,965 Bell Sept. 2l 1948 2,635,680Zentmire Apr. 21, 1953 2,639,055 Carlson May 19, 1953 2,652,944 VisserSept. 22, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 574,802 Great Britain Ian. 22, 1946

